We welcome today’s “Plan for Change” government targets which bring a renewed emphasis on improving child development outcomes in the early years. While still committed to delivering the roll-out of the entitlements for children of working parents, the new target announced today represents an important shift of emphasis away from the number of places delivered […]
If you read the government’s guidance on applying for capital funding to open or expand nursery provision, you could be forgiven for thinking setting up a nursery is mainly about the space. There’s not much detail on what’s best for children or parents, what’s needed to deliver high quality of provision or the distinctive nature […]
by Nathan Archer In June 2024 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data on levels of childcare accessibility across local areas in England including the characteristics of areas with lower or higher “levels of access”. The data take the form of ratio of childcare places to number of children aged 7 and under and […]
The Department for Education (DfE) has today launched a “test and learn” pilot for its planned expansion of school-based nursery provision. Under the scheme, primary schools can apply for up to £150,000 of £15 million capital funding, provided they make the case for local need and get sign off from their local authority. The following […]
by Victoria Jefferies Sea state: rough, occasionally very rough, rarely smooth! It’s rarely plain sailing in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) with its myriad of navigational challenges. Neoliberalist tides threaten to submerge the ship: the economisation of education reduces our youngest children to passive beings, “yet to be realised human capital” (Robert-Holmes and Moss, […]
Ofsted has today published its response to the “Big Listen” consultation. For the early years, it undertakes to: On the differences between early years and schools inspection, they noted “Frustration from professionals who felt inspectors on primary school inspections do not have the early years expertise needed to inspect Nursery or Reception phases.” They have […]
We welcome the Department for Education’s announcement that the government are moving ahead with their manifesto commitment to scrap single-word Ofsted judgements for schools, effective immediately, and with a new report card being introduced from September 2025 for all schools, including maintained nursery schools. The announcement confirms that a parallel change will apply to settings on […]
The National Audit Office’s new report, Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children, finds that in 2023-24, DfE allocated an estimated £9.2 billion to specifically focus on the educational attainment of disadvantaged children. However, disadvantaged children continued to perform less well than their peers across all areas and school phases. Crucially for the early years sector, […]
by Natalie Weir and Janine Coates In March 2023, the National Early Years Active Start Partnership (NEYASP) was established to address pressing issues surrounding physical development and inactivity in young children, particularly in a post-pandemic society. This partnership brings together organisations and individuals with extensive experience and expertise in early years physical development, physical education […]
The letter below sets out our key asks for the next government.
Early Education
2 Victoria Square
St Albans
AL1 3TF
T: 01727 884925
E: office@early-education.org.uk
